Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Farsi grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about حرف او بد است.
The lesson is about compound verbs, so is harf acting as a verb here?
No, the only verb in this sentence is ast (is). You might be expecting the compound verb harf zadan (to speak). However, here harf is just a noun meaning 'word' or 'speech'.
Why does the translation say 'what he says' instead of just 'his word'?
Literally, harf-e ou means 'his speech' or 'his words'. While you could translate it that way, 'what he says' captures the natural English meaning perfectly. Farsi often uses simple nouns like harf to express ideas that take a whole phrase in English.
How do we know it is 'his' words if the word for 'his' isn't explicitly there?
The possession is shown by the invisible linking sound called the ezafe. You pronounce it as harf-e ou. This 'e' sound connects the noun harf (words) to the pronoun ou (he/him), creating the meaning 'his words'.
Since Farsi doesn't have gendered pronouns, could this also mean 'what she says'?
Yes! The pronoun ou means 'he' or 'she'. Unless we have context telling us otherwise, 'what she says is bad' is a completely valid translation.